Short answer
In October 2026 ChatGPT is the main platform for AI B2B ads: self-serve in 63 countries, with ad groups built on the conversations you choose. Google shows ads in AI Overviews through existing search campaigns, with no separate targeting, and its new AI Mode formats are still in US testing. Microsoft Copilot ads run through Microsoft Advertising. Perplexity is winding its ads down. Start with ChatGPT, treat Google and Microsoft as part of your search budget, and keep LinkedIn for account targeting.
At a glance
| ChatGPT | Google AI Overviews / AI Mode | Microsoft Copilot | Perplexity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How you buy | OpenAI Ads Manager or partners | Google Ads | Microsoft Advertising | Being wound down |
| Choose conversations | Yes, context hints | No | No, keyword and audience targeting | – |
| Company or job-title targeting | No | No | LinkedIn profile targeting on search | – |
| Separate reporting for AI placement | It is the placement | No | No | – |
| Self-serve markets | 63 countries | AI Overview ads in the US and 11 more markets; AI Mode formats US tests | English, French and German markets | – |
| B2B role | Core channel | Part of search | Modest test | Don’t start |
ChatGPT ads
The only platform where a B2B advertiser chooses the conversations. Ads appear in a labelled block under the answer for logged-in adults on the Free and Go plans. OpenAI said on 31 August 2026 that ChatGPT ads had reached a $1 billion annualised run rate in under 200 days, and opened self-serve buying in Europe, India, the Middle East and North Africa; by late September its availability list covered 63 countries, including Poland and the rest of the EU.
- Targeting: context hints (up to 2,000 per ad group), location, platform, customer lists (inclusion needs 25,000 matched users; not in the EEA or Switzerland).
- Buying: per 1,000 views, per click, or optimised for conversions (still billed per click or view).
- Costs: $25, £15 or €15 minimum daily budget; reported CPC about $3–5 and CPM $25–60.
- Limits: no account or job-title targeting, no retargeting, no ads for paid-plan users.
Start here: ChatGPT ads for B2B and the 2026 field guide.
Google AI Overviews and AI Mode
Google serves ads in and around AI Overviews from existing Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns using broad match or keywordless targeting (Performance Max, AI Max for Search, Dynamic Search Ads). You can’t target, exclude or report the AI placement separately. Ads in AI Overviews ran in the US first and expanded to 11 more English-language markets in December 2025.
At Google Marketing Live on 20 May 2026, Google announced new formats for AI Mode: Conversational Discovery ads and Highlighted Answers (testing in the US), AI-powered Shopping ads (later in 2026), and Business Agent for Leads, a Gemini chat inside lead-gen ads trained on the advertiser’s site (open beta for US advertisers). The last one is worth watching for B2B. Ads in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Microsoft Copilot
Copilot ads are bought through Microsoft Advertising and run in English, French and German markets, with newer formats such as Showroom ads in pilot. There’s no separate Copilot placement report. The B2B advantage is Microsoft’s LinkedIn profile targeting on search, which narrows by company, industry and job function. Treat Copilot as part of a Microsoft Advertising test. Copilot ads for B2B.
Perplexity
Perplexity launched ads in 2024 and is winding the programme down. It’s still worth being cited in Perplexity answers organically, but not a place to start paying. What to do instead.
Third-party networks and pilots
- Amazon DSP into ChatGPT: a pilot from 10 September 2026 that extends Amazon DSP campaigns into ChatGPT. Details.
- Thrad and similar networks: place native ads in partner AI apps. Check exactly which assistants they serve in; some claims about partnerships have been disputed. The full landscape.
- Partners: OpenAI sells ChatGPT ads through agencies and ad tech partners as well as self-serve. Buying through partners.
Where LinkedIn fits
LinkedIn isn’t an AI placement, but it’s the other half of most AI B2B ads plans: it can target named accounts (company lists up to 300,000, minimum audience 300) at a CPC of about $6–15. Use it to warm up buying groups and retarget accounts that AI ads identify. ChatGPT ads vs LinkedIn ads.
Where to start, by company type
| You are | Start with | Add next |
|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS, 20–500 staff, US or UK buyers | ChatGPT ads on vendor and decision questions | AI visibility, LinkedIn retargeting |
| Enterprise software, long cycles | AI visibility plus ChatGPT on decision questions | LinkedIn ABM on identified accounts |
| IT services or MSP, local markets | ChatGPT with regional context hints | Microsoft Advertising with Copilot |
| Heavy Google Ads spender | Check broad match and PMax eligibility for AI Overviews | ChatGPT test on questions search misses |
| EU-only buyers | ChatGPT with context hints (no custom audiences in the EEA) | AI visibility in local languages |
Questions
Which AI B2B ads platform is best?
For most B2B companies in October 2026, ChatGPT, because it’s the only one where you choose the conversations. Google and Microsoft placements come with your search campaigns.
Can I buy ads in Google AI Mode now?
Not as a separate self-serve placement outside the US tests announced in May 2026. Ads in AI Overviews come from eligible Search, Shopping and Performance Max campaigns.
Do Gemini or Claude show ads?
Google’s announced AI ad formats run in Search, AI Overviews and AI Mode. Check current documentation before planning; this changes quickly.
Is Copilot worth a separate budget?
Not yet. Test it inside Microsoft Advertising and judge the campaign as a whole.
Facts checked against the sources below on 15 October 2026. AI ad platforms change quickly: if something here no longer matches what you see, tell us and we will update it.
Sources
- OpenAI: A milestone in expanding access to AI with ChatGPT ads (31 August 2026)
- OpenAI Help Center: Ads Manager availability
- OpenAI: Ads campaign targeting
- OpenAI Help Center: Ads in ChatGPT
- Index Lab: What ChatGPT ads really cost in 2026
- Search Engine Land: Google tests new conversational ad formats in AI Mode (20 May 2026)
- PPC Land: Google expands AI Overview ads to 11 countries
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website
- Search Engine Land: Microsoft Copilot adds Showroom ads and dynamic filters
- B&T: Perplexity cans advertising (2026)
- ClickMinded: LinkedIn Ads benchmarks (July 2026)
- ZenABM: LinkedIn Ads minimum audience size and company list matching (July 2026)
